Yarn package and binding device therefor



April 12, 1960 A. R. HARTSFIELD ET AL 2,932,338

YARN PACKAGE AND BINDING DEVICE THEREFOR Filed June 30, 1958 FIG- 3 5 Age v, a E mms MN V sm R R WA H O AW RWP T 0% A 5 WW A w FIG. 3.

2,932,388 fa nte A .2.

YARN PACKAGE AND BINDING DEVICE THEREFOR Alfred R. Hartsfield, John W. Kessler, and Joseph H. Moran, Pensacola, Fla., assignors to The Chemstrand Corporation, Decatur, Ala., a corporation of Delaware Application June 30, 1958, Serial No. 745,725 1 Claim. (Cl. 206-5 9) This invention relates to the packaging of material and more particularly ot a binding device for a package containing material of the type which has a tendency to undergo a physical change such as shrinkage subsequent to the packaging of the material. 1

It has been found that many types of material tend to undergo a physical change such as shrinkage or the like subsequent to packaging. This creates a problem when ties or straps composed of rigid material suchas metal have been employed to bind a covering material tightly against the unstable packaged material. For instance, in thepackaging of 'filamentary'material formed from a synthetic composition such as nylon or theglike, sucha packaging problem is encountered. One such typeof' filamentary material, the packaging of which maybe accomplished by this invention, is what is generally referred to in the textile industry as yarn.. 'For the purpose of clarity, the term yarn will beused as a broad designation in the description'of the inventionto follow. butit is to be understood that the term yarn includes any type of flexible strand having a rodlike shape and includes filament yarn, both multifilamentary and monofilamentary, and staple yarn, any of which may be composed of natural, artificial, or synthetic material. Furthermore,.yarn formed from nylon will be discussed as a specific example, but the invention is not to be considered limited thereto.

and bundled ends of the yarn from their taped positions. These leased ends become twisted and entangled so that considerable time and expensemust be expended in separating these ends in order'for the yarn to be suitably unwound from the beam for subsequent manufacture into the desired end product.

Accordingly, a primary object of this invention is to provide a new and novel binding device for a package containing material, 'the physical dimensions of which are subject to change with time. 1 I 1 Another object of this invention is to provide a new and novel binding'device for a package of yarn composed of synthetic material which remains. in tight-gripping, binding relationship'with the package throughout changes in the package diameter.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a new and novel package strap for a nylon yarn package which is simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture and which-may be readily installed in package strapping posi- One type of yarn composed of nylon is generally referred to as tire cord yarn and is an example of yarn in which the aforementioned packaging problem is encountered. Tire cord yarn has an important commercial use today as reinforcing cord for the carcass of automobile tires. This tire cord yarn, which is generally of relatively large denier (approximately 840 denier), is prepared by well known manufacturing processes which generally include a drawing operation or stretching operation which imparts to the yarn certain highly desirable physical characteristics such as tensile strength. This processed yarn is subsequently wound on a suitable holder such as a warping beam in a plurality of substantially parallel lengths of yarn. In the preferred form, the terminal ends of these yarn lengths are bunched or gathered after winding in a plurality of bundles or clusters each of which is suitably secured by means such as pressure sensitive tape or the like to the peripheral surface of the wound package in an easily removable manner. A protecting wrapper such as a sheet of paperboard or the like is then positioned in encircling relationship with the wound yarn package and fixedly secured in position by a binding device such as metal straps or the like.

' Unfortunately, this drawn nylon tire cord yarn is prone to shrink subsequent to winding in the package form during the period of time the packaged yarn remains in storage or shipment with an attendant decrease in the diameter of the wound package. The metal straps, which are initially tightly bound on the beam, therefore, become loose as a result of this reduction in package diameter and a clearance develops between the peripheral surface of the wound package and the paperboard wrapper.

tion with a maximum of binding force without danger of breakagea A further object invention is to provide a new, and novel package for filamentary material in which the leased ends of the filamentary material may be protec;

'tively covered and maintained inan unentangled condiltion throughout changes in the diameter of the package due tochanges in the physical dimensions of the filamentary material. 3

. Still another object of theinvention is to provide a new and novel wound package of nylon yarn formed by a plurality of substantially parallel yarns, the ends of which arerestrained against entanglement throughout a reduction :in the package diameter resulting from yarn shrinkagg V p A still further object of this invention is to provide a new and novel nylon yarn package wound with yarn suitable for tire cord application which is provided with nylon straps for strapping a protective wrapper on the package with the straps arranged'to maintain this wrapper in intimate wrapping engagement with the yarn and the yarnleased ends so as to prevent entanglement of the leased ends throughout contraction of the yarn and attendant reduction in package diameter.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent taken in connection with the accompanying drawing. 1

In general, the objects of the invention are accompli shed by providing a binding device composed of filaing force of up to 9 grams per denier and more and which has the ability to withstand a stretch or deformation of at least between 5-10% without exceeding its elastic limit during the imposition of such a load. The binding device is preferably employed on a package comprising a holder on which a plurality of turns of filamentary material such asyarn are wound. The terminal ends of the filamentary material are removably leased to the peripheral surface of the package and cover means are positioned in overlying relationship with the surface of'the wound package. At least one of such binding devices is positioned inpackagestrapping relationship so as to fixedly secure the cover means in the package covering position. Means are provided for securing the ends of the binding device to bind 1 p the cover means fixedly to the package wherebythe cover means is fixedly held against the package surface and prevents entanglement of the leased ends throughout any changes in the diameter of the package resulting from f shrinkage or the like of thefilamentary material.

The novel'features which are believed ,to be character: 1 istic'of the invention are set forth with particularity in wrapper readily slips relative I to the peripheral surface of the yarn dislodging the leased the appended claim. The inventon itself, both as to its organization and method of operation may be best understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawingin which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a package of filamen tary material constructed in accordance with the invention at an intermediate stage of assembly; 1

Figure 2 is a front view of the package of Figure 1 at the completion of its assembly operation; and

Figure 3 is a view of a binding device constructed in accordance with the invention which is employed on the package of Figures 1, 2.

Referring now to Figure 1, there is shown a holder for filamentary material such as yarn designated generally by the numeral 11, having a barrel or shank (not shown) preferably cylindrical in shape, which terminates at each end in an end flange or plate 12. The holder 11 is generally termed a beam and is frequently employed for accommodating a plurality of wound lengths or turns 13 of filamentary material such as yarn or the like.

As is well understood, theseyarns 13 of filamentary material are wound on the barrel of the beam 11 to form a wound yarn package designated generally by the numeral 14 in which the yarns are maintained in substantially parallel relationship and may be unwound in the form of a laterally spread sheet of continuous yarns. While this invention may bereadily adapted to any type of .yarn holder or type of yarn, in the preferred embodiment the yarns 13 are composed of a synthetic material such as nylon and it is with reference to nylon that the invention will be described hereinafter. More specifically, the nylon yarn with which thisinvention is particularly adaptable is yarn which may be employed as a reinforcing fabric for the carcass of automobile tires, or what is commonly referred to atir.e cord yarn.

It should be understood that the invention contemplates the use of other filamentary material such as textile yarn and the like as well as any type of material which is prone to undergo a change in physical dimensions with time. A holder such as beam 11 suitable for receiving tire cord yarn may have a shank or barrel diameter of between eight and twelve inches and may be approximately five feet in length.

As is well known in the manufacture of nylon yarn including that yarn suitable for tire cord use, a drawing or stretching operation is generally carried out to impart tensile strength to the yarn. When the drawn yarn is wound on a holder such as beam 11 for tire cord .end use, it is wound in a plurality of substantially parallel turns as described above. When the package 14 is fully formed, a plurality of the free ends of these turns of nylon yarn are gathered or collected into clusters or bundles 15 at uniformly spaced intervals along the length of the beam 11, and these bundles are suitably secured by means such as pressure sensitive tape 16 or the like to the surface of the wound yarn package 14.

In the specific embodiment of Figure 1, four of such gathered bundles 15 are illustrated. When the nylon yarn is to be removed from the beam 11 for manufacture into tire cord, the individual yarns in the leased bundles 15 may be segregated after the tape 16 has been removed so that the individual yarns may be suitably fed into associated apparatus in which the yarn is to be processed.

It can be readily seen that during storage or shipment or both, the yarn package 14 of Figure l, as well as the leased bundles 15, must be protected against damage or'the like, and for this purpose cover means such as 'asheet of sturdy, flexible material 17 which may be paperboard or the like, has been provided. This sheet 17 is wrapped circumferentially around the peripheral surface of the yarn package 14 so that it fits snugly between the beam end flangeslz.

Means have been provided for securing the sheet 17 in the wrapped position shown in Figure 2. More specifically, the sheet securing or strapping means comprise at least one binding device or strap 18 constructed in accordance with the invention which is positioned in the package-tying relationship of Figure 2. The straps 18 are bound tightly around the package 14 so that the sheet 17 is held securely against the peripheral surface of the package.

As previously described, the nylon yarn in package 14 which has been previously drawn or stretched during processing frequently undergoes a physical change with time after wrapping on the beam 11 This change manifests itself primarily in a tendency of the yarn to shrink and, therefore, wind itself more tightly or more compactly on the barrel of the beam 11. As can be understood, this shrinkage, which occurs over a period of time during storage or shipment or both, is accompanied by a reduction in the diameter of the yarn package 14. As the straps 18 in the past have been formed of rigid material such as found in a conventional metal bale tie or the like, this package shrinkage produces a'clearance between the cover 17 and the peripheral surface of the package 14 so that the gripping action of the rigid strap is lost. The cover 17, therefore, remains free to slide or rotate relative to the package peripheral surface. As can be readily seen, this movement of the sheet 17 frequently peels the tapes 16 from their original position and dislodges the leased bundles 15 producing an entangled mass of yarnat each of the bundles 15 as well as between adjacent bundles.

Means, therefore, have been provided which maintainthe tension in the straps 18 throughout changes in the diameter of the yarn package 14 and which maintain the sheet 17 compressed securely against the peripheral surface of the package so that entanglement of the yarn bundles 15 is prevented. More specifically, as shown in Figure 3, the strap 18 is composed of an elastic filamentary material, which in the specific embodiment is nylon and which when initially tightened in the package binding relationship of Figure 2, will stretch to a limited extent and exert sufiicient gripping force to securely hold the protecting cover 17 against the yarn package 14.

It can be seen that not only must the material in the strap 18 be of an elastic nature, but it must be of suffb cient tensile strength to securely bind the sheet 17 to the peripheral surface of the package 14. For instance, a binding force in straps 18 produced by a tension of -200 pounds applied to each strap is generally suflicient to securely hold the sheet 17 in the bound position shown in Figure 2. Such a binding force is readily obtainable without danger of strap breakage with a material such as nylon. The filamentary material of which straps 18 are formed is selected from one of a class of synthetic compositions having a tensile strength of between 1.5 and 9.0 grams per denier. Preferably, the filamentary material is selected from a class of synthetic compositions which include nylon having a tensile strength of between 4.0 and 8.0 grams per denier.

An even more important quality of a material such as nylon is the amount of elongation or stretch which the nylon strap will sustain without exceeding its elastic limit when a load of the above-described magnitude is applied. It has been found that with the use of approximately three continuous strands or threads for the strap 18, each strand containing twelve 840 denier nylon yarns to give a 10,080 total denier, a tension of up to 500 pounds or more maybe applied to the strap with a resultant stretch or elongation of 5-10% in the strap without exceeding the elastic limit of the nylon strap material. To express the outstanding properties of a material such as nylon in another way, the filamentary material is characterized by an overall average modulus of elasticity of between 0.3 and 0.6 gram per denier per 1% stretch between 0 and 9% elongation. For instance, one preferred type of nylon suitable for use in the straps 18 has modulus of 0.51 gram per denier per 1% stretch.

The nylon strap 18 may be of any suitable type of elongated rope or band of nylon such as a single strand or thread, but in the specific embodiment as shown in Figure 3, the strap 18 is preferably formed of a plurality of multi-filamentary threads which have been plaited together for convenience. In the specific embodiment, three of such threads have been plaited as shown.

Means have been provided for securing the ends of the nylon strap 18 together in the package binding relationship. Although the nylon strap ends may be tied directly together to form the package strap of Figure 2, this strap-tying operation is facilitated by providing eyes 19, one of which is secured to each end of the nylon strap 18. A conventional type of metal band or tie designated generally by the numeral 21 is preferably provided which is suitably secured in the well known manner at each end to one of the eyes 19. The strap 18 may, therefore, be drawn into tight package binding relationship in the well known manner by relative movement between the metal strap sections 22, 23 which are subsequently Secured in the tightened position by means of a deformable clasp or runner 24.

When the package of Figure 2 has beenassembled, it may be subsequently stored or shipped or both during which time the yarn package 14 has been found generally to shrink or decrease in diameter as described above. With the novel elastic nylon straps 18, however, any reduction in diameter in the yarn package 18 will be accompanied by a corresponding shrinkage or tightening in the strap 18 without substantially diminishing the binding force and the cover or sheet 17 is, therefore, constantly maintained in intimate surface contact with the peripheral surface of the yarn package 14. Furthermore, it should be understood that if the yarn wound on the beam 11 is of a type which has a tendency to expand rather than contract, the nature of the strap 18 will permit the strap to expand with the yarn package Without disturbing the relative position of the sheet 17 on the yarn package 14 It can be seen that with the instant invention, the protecting paperboard cover 17 is not permitted to move relative to the surface of the yarn package 14 during a reduction in the diameter of package 14 due to yarn shrinkage and the like and the leased ends 15 are maintained in a neat, untangled condition. The tapes 16 may conceivably pull loose from their original position of Figure 1 during yarn shrinkage, but the yarn bundles 15 would remain in their neat, orderly relationship as a result of the tightly bound overlying sheet 17. Thus, when the yarn on the package 14 is to be utilized and the sheet 17 is removed, the yarns in each of the leased bundles 15 may be readily picked up individually without difliculty.

What has been provided, therefore, is a sturdy and rugged package of nylon yarn which may be subjected to rough handling and prolonged storage'and/or shipment but which arrives at its ultimate destination in its original packaged form so that customer dissatisfaction from improperly arranged yarn is eliminated. Furthermore, the novel straps of the invention are both simple in construction and inexpensive and may be readily applied in a simple and direct manner while being capable of sustaining the high tension loads required in the strapping of nylon tire cord beams of the type illustrated. If desired, other material having properties similar to nylon such as orlon, viscose, and the like may be used in the strap 18.

While there has been described what at present is considered to be the preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the invention, and therefore it is the aim of the appended claim to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention. 7

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed 15:

A yarn package comprising, in combination, a yarn holder, a plurality of nylon yarns wound in substantially parallel relationship on said holder to form a cylindrical yarn package, said yarns having ends gathered in a plurality of bundles, a pressure sensitive tape for removably securing said bundles to the surface of said package, a flexible wrapper of protective material positioned in overlying relationship with the peripheral surface of said yarn package, a plurality of elongated filamentary nylon straps encircling said package and arranged to secure said wrapper in said package overlying relationship, each of said straps being composed of nylon having a tensile strength of 1.5 to 9.0 grams per denier and a maximum elongation of 10% within its elastic limit, clasping means for securing the ends of said straps in binding relationship on said package and over said wrapper whereby said wrapper is held in intimate contact with said yarn package surface to maintain said bundles in an unentangled condition throughout contraction of the yarn on said package.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,887,626 Elssner et al. Nov. 15, 1932 1,996,791 Blake Apr. 9, 1935 2,579,600 Murray Dec. 25, 1951 2,647,816 Battista Aug. 4, 1953 

